The Bulldogs (15-11, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) won their second straight after ending a four-game losing streak Feb. 14 against Vanderbilt and its first in Thompson-Boling Arena since Jan. 29, 1997.

Tennessee (18-9, 5-8) tied the score or took small leads throughout the second half but came unraveled in the final minutes.

After the Vols held a tenuous 66-63 lead with 6:32 left, Georgia went on a 15-0 run, including nine straight free throws. Layne scored nine points as Georgia went ahead 78-66 with 2:30 left.

Terrence Woods was fouled shooting a 3 and broke Tennessee's drought with two free throws.

But it was too late. The Vols couldn't find a way to stop Georgia, and the fans already were headed toward the exits. The fans left heckled coach Jerry Green and booed among small smatterings of applause.

Adrian Jones added 16 points, and Chris Daniels had 12 points off the bench while Shon Coleman had 10 for the Bulldogs, who held onto third place in the SEC East and swept the regular-season series with the Vols.

Tennessee was led by Ron Slay with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Marcus Haislip had 16, Isiah Victor 14 and Tony Harris 10.

Georgia outrebounded the Vols 42-39 and shot 30-of-60 from the field, but Tennessee helped with its lapses on defense and bad decisions on offense.

In one case, the Vols cut it to 54-53 after Victor made two free throws with 11:45 left and another free throw tied it at 56. But the defense failed on the ensuing possession as it had over and over during the losing streak.

Steven Thomas missed a shot, Rashad Wright grabbed the rebound and reset the offense for the Bulldogs. Evans was fouled and made two free throws, and Slay picked up his fourth foul on the next possession and Evans made two more to cut the lead to 62-61 with 7:41 remaining. Daniels made two more free throws 30 seconds later, and Georgia was back in the lead 63-62.

Tennessee took the lead for the first time in the second half 43-42 after Slay's three-point play with 16:13 to go, but the Bulldogs answered.

Evans had a three-point play to start a 6-0 run to put Georgia back up 49-45 with 13:47 to go.

Georgia, down by as many as 11 early, trimmed the lead, led for one possession and left at halftime tied at 35 after Robb Dryden's putback with 43.1 seconds left.

Tennessee started strong with a 17-6 lead after Haislip's basket with 12:46 remaining before halftime. But Georgia responded with a 15-7, during which the Vols were scoreless for 2´ minutes, to cut the lead to 23-22 with 7:49 left.

Green, under increasing criticism in recent weeks, suspended center Charles Hathaway for the game for missing practice Tuesday. Hathaway, a 6-foot-10 senior, had started all but one game this season.